Friday, April 30, 2010

Happy Walpurgis Eve!

Today, April 30th, is the eve of Valborg, or Walbpurgis Eve, in Sweden. A night I haven't celebrated since I moved to the United States. That's 15 years.

In short, it's an unofficial holiday where we light huge bonfires at dusk and sing songs to welcome the spring. To be honest, most Swedes have no clue as to where the tradition stems from, and we use this day as an excuse to light a big fire, and to eat, drink and be merry.

After all, most people are so excited to welcome spring after a long, dark winter. Who wouldn't be, right? Besides, all those twigs and branches lost to winters storms or snow now find a purpose.

Image from sv.wikipedia.org

One of my favorite songs that is sung on this evening is Vintern Rasat written in 1838 by Herman Sätherberg.

The song, it's original title Längtan till landet, (freely translated Longing to the country side) is so poetic and it gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. It has such a connection to the nature. I'll make an attempt to translate into English a little part of it to give you a feel for it.

Love this post too! After a dark and cold winter, a bonfire to celebrate spring sounds perfect. (hmm... sounds like burning season in MA, which just finished. - we always used to do the bonfire, but we should have done more of the merriment to go along with it!)

About Me

I am a Swede living the American life with husband and children in a New England suburb.
This blog started out as a pure nature and gardening blog called "Nature as I see it".
As photography is becoming a greater part of my life, I find myself documenting more of my activities and surroundings, not just nature. I therefore decided to rename it "New England as I see it".

Google Translation (Not perfect, but likely entertaining)

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Copyright

All photographs appearing on this site, unless otherwise mentioned, are the property of Annelie Connolly Photography. They are protected by U.S. Copyright Laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Annelie Connolly Photography. Copyright 2011Annelie B. Connolly. All Rights Reserved.